Private labels will contribute 10% to online marketplace Flipkart's overall business by the end of this year, a top company executive said as part of a strategy to boost margins and compete better with rival Amazon.

The Bengaluru-based ecommerce giant has only one private label, 'Flipkart Smartbuy', which sells products under 11 categories, including electronic accessories and home plastics. It accounts for 10-35% of Flipkart's business in the se categories.

In comparison, US-based Amazon offers a larger range of in-house brands. In an effort to match up to this, Flipkart plans to launch 15 more product categories -such as cookwares, trimmers, hair dryers and hair straighteners -in the coming weeks under the Flipkart Smartbuy tag to increase their contribution to the overall business.

“At present, 10-12 sellers are making products with Flipkart Smartbuy label. As we launch more products and labels, we want to double this number in the next couple of months,“ said Adarsh Me non, Flipkart's vice-president for private label. These sellers will be from manufacturing hubs in tier-II loca tions such as Jaipur and Ahmedabad, Menon said. In retailing, private la bels typically earn a larger gross margin than products sold by other vendors, even when offered at a discount.

Flipkart, which plans to launch more private labels by the middle of this year to sell furniture, small appliances, home décor, furnishings and staples, has given the licence to its sellers to produce products under the Flipkart Smartbuy label.

When Flipkart Smartbuy was launt ched in December last year, the company had associated with only a few large sellers. This time round, it is associating with smaller sellers too to widen its products range, the company said.

Amazon India offers a range of private labels, including Symbol, a menswear brand, and Myx, an ethnic wear label for women. Its other private labels in the Indian market include Solimo kitchen products and AmazonBasics, which has digital and home accessories such as data cables, batteries, chargers, camera bags, laptop bags and earphones.

To strengthen its portfolio in India, the Seattle-based company is likely to introduce more private label brands in home furnishing, kitchenware and fashion. Its first private label in India was AmazonBasics, which became active in late 2015.